Tractors, large and small, are used to perform many tasks on a farm, in a yard, or in many other locations where their motive power is useful. Tractors typically perform their jobs by pulling, and sometimes powering, implements or attachments connected thereto. Indeed, the fundamental philosophy of a tractor is that one motive engine (i.e., tractor) may be used to pull many diverse implements, none of which need be self-propelled.
The first engine-powered farm tractors used steam and were introduced around 1868. These engines were built as small road locomotives and were operated by one man if the engine weighed less than 5 tons. They were used for general road haulage, in particular, in the logging industry.
Gasoline powered “traction engines” (later abbreviated “tractors”) appeared around 1887 and gradually replaced the role of horses or other draft animals in pulling farm implements.
Because of the number of different implements needing to be attached to a tractor at different times, hitch systems were developed to facilitate the interchange of implements. Eventually, quick-connect hitch systems that minimized the time necessary to swap implements emerged. However, such quick-connect hitch systems were typically proprietary, meaning that implements manufactured by one vendor were not easily attached to a tractor manufactured by a different vendor. In reality, when a new tractor is purchased, a complete suite of new implements is not necessarily also purchased. This means that implements requiring a different hitch system may be left behind, creating problems for the owner of the new tractor.